The Country Music Book Of Lists

More than just charts, star bios, and boring listings, "The Country Music Book of Lists" is the perfect gift or pop reference guide for trivia fans, filled with humor, insight, and "down home fun".

Immediately upon publication in 1998, the Encyclopedia of Country Music became a much-loved reference source, prized for the wealth of information it contained on that most American of musical genres. Countless fans have used it as the source for answers to questions about everything from country's first commercially successful recording, to the genre's pioneering music videos, to what conjunto music is. This thoroughly revised new edition includes more than 1,200 A-Z entries covering nine decades of history and artistry, from the Carter Family recordings of the 1920s to the reign of Taylor Swift in the first decade of the twenty-first century. Compiled by a team of experts at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the encyclopedia has been brought completely up-to-date, with new entries on the artists who have profoundly influenced country music in recent years, such as the Dixie Chicks and Keith Urban. The new edition also explores the latest and most critical trends within the industry, shedding light on such topics as the digital revolution, the shifting politics of country music, and the impact of American Idol (reflected in the stardom of Carrie Underwood). Other essays cover the literature of country music, the importance of Nashville as a music center, and the colorful outfits that have long been a staple of the genre. The volume features hundreds of images, including a photo essay of album covers; a foreword by country music superstar Vince Gill (the winner of twenty Grammy Awards); and twelve fascinating appendices, ranging from lists of awards to the best-selling country albums of all time. Winner of the Best Reference Award from the Popular Culture Association "Any serious country music fan will treasure this authoritative book." --The Seattle Times "A long-awaited, major accomplishment, which educators, historians and students, broadcasters and music writers, artists and fans alike, will welcome and enjoy." --The Nashville Musician "Should prove a valuable resource to those who work in the country music business. But it's also an entertaining read for the music's true fans." --Houston Chronicle "This big, handsome volume spans the history of country music, listing not only artists and groups but also important individuals and institutions." --San Francisco Examiner "Promises to be the definitive historical and biographical work on the past eight decades of country music. Well written and heavily illustratedan unparalleled work, worth its price and highly recommended." --Library Journal

The rich and colorful story of America's most popular music and the singers and songwriters who captivated, entertained, and consoled listeners throughout the twentieth century--based on the upcoming eight-part film series to air on PBS in September 2019 This gorgeously illustrated and hugely entertaining history begins where country music itself emerged: the American South, where people sang to themselves and to their families at home and in church, and where they danced to fiddle tunes on Saturday nights. With the birth of radio in the 1920s, the songs moved from small towns, mountain hollers, and the wide-open West to become the music of an entire nation--a diverse range of sounds and styles from honky tonk to gospel to bluegrass to rockabilly, leading up through the decades to the music's massive commercial success today. But above all, Country Music is the story of the musicians. Here is Hank Williams's tragic honky tonk life, Dolly Parton rising to fame from a dirt-poor childhood, and Loretta Lynn turning her experiences into songs that spoke to women everywhere. Here too are interviews with the genre's biggest stars, including the likes of Merle Haggard to Garth Brooks to Rosanne Cash. Rife with rare photographs and endlessly fascinating anecdotes, the stories in this sweeping yet intimate history will captivate longtime country fans and introduce new listeners to an extraordinary body of music that lies at the very center of the American experience.

(Easy Piano Songbook). If you've learned enough piano to feel comfortable picking up your first songbook and you love country music, this collection is for you! Arranged at an easier level so beginners can play 50 quintessential country classics and sound great. Includes: Always on My Mind * Behind Closed Doors * Could I Have This Dance * Crazy * Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue * Folsom Prison Blues * Forever and Ever, Amen * Friends in Low Places * The Gambler * Gentle on My Mind * Green Green Grass of Home * Happy Trails * Help Me Make It Through the Night * Hey, Good Lookin' * Jambalaya (On the Bayou) * King of the Road * Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys * On the Road Again * Ring of Fire * San Antonio Rose * Stand by Your Man * Wichita Lineman * You Are My Sunshine * Your Cheatin' Heart * and more!

In country music, the men might dominate the radio waves. But it’s women—like Maren Morris, Mickey Guyton, and Kacey Musgraves—who are making history. This is the full and unbridled story of the past twenty years of country music seen through the lens of these trailblazers’ careers—their paths to stardom and their battles against a deeply embedded boys’ club, as well as their efforts to transform the genre into a more inclusive place—as told by award-winning Nashville journalist Marissa R. Moss. For the women of country music, 1999 was an entirely different universe—a brief blip in time, when women like Shania Twain and the Chicks topped every chart and made country music a woman’s world. But the industry, which prefers its stars to be neutral, be obedient, and never rock the boat, had other plans. It wanted its women to “shut up and sing”—or else. In 2021, women are played on country radio as little as 10 percent of the time, but they’re still selling out arenas, as Kacey Musgraves does, and becoming infinitely bigger live draws than most of their male counterparts, creating massive pop crossover hits like Maren Morris’s “The Middle,” pushing the industry to confront its racial biases with Mickey Guyton’s “Black Like Me,” and winning heaps of Grammy nominations. Her Country is the story of how in the past two decades, country’s women fought back against systems designed to keep them down and created entirely new pathways to success. It’s the behind-the-scenes story of how women like Kacey, Mickey, Maren, Miranda Lambert, Rissi Palmer, Brandi Carlile, and many more have reinvented their place in an industry stacked against them. When the rules stopped working for these women, they threw them out, made their own, and took control—changing the genre forever, and for the better.

A journey through the history of country music.

The mixture of serious topics, tongue-in-cheek items, and outright silliness provides something to please everyone familiar with libraries, making a fun read and a wonderful gift.